Catacombs

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A network of rooms, corridors and burial chambers in the Underground Caverns beneath Marcuria, accessed by a door that opens with a magical four-tone melody. April Ryan uses the Catacombs to follow the Prophet, because they extend beneath the floodwater in the underground caverns that he traverses with a boat.

The Catacombs were built by a race with both technological knowledge and some magical prowess. April finds one of the anachronistic glowing eggs in one of the sarcophagi, and a few of the rooms are blocked by gates that are opened when the correct symbols are aligned on various statues that stand around the corridors. April comments that the statues remind her of one of the magical races of Arcadia, most likely the Banda. She wonders if they could be a distant ancestor. This would fit with the 'stone singing' magic needed to get inside and the dimensions of the Catacombs - the ceiling is slightly too low for human comfort.

Though they were obviously once impressive, the Catacombs have now fallen into disrepair, possibly due to their age or the presence of the Grubbers who now wander the corridors. Many of the rooms, which could have been charnel houses, are now full of rubbish and shattered statuary - presumably one or more of them have suffered the attentions of the warrior Grubber which is somewhere inside. There are also broken pillars and piles of stone which may have come from the roof, which April can hide behind if necessary. However, the sarcophagi seem to have survived the ages intact. As well as the glowing egg, the sarcophagus April opens also contains a mummified body with the bandages still in place.

It isn't clear if the Catacombs that April traverses are the only burial grounds in the caves, but one of the song titles for Dreamfall hints otherwise. It is possible the ruins in the caverns comprise one enormous necropolis.

The player challenges in the Catacombs involve some rather difficult and possibly unfair stealth sections. RTG community member Eveolene has named the area the "Cave of Fuckery", a term that was promptly picked by the entire forum, including Ragnar Tørnquist, who commented: "'Cave of Fuckery'. I'm using that one. Thanks!"[1]